Police identify two women in Akron attack

The 16-year-old girl who was shot and killed early Sunday in Akron was pregnant.

David A. Stoddard, 24, of Barberton, is accused of killing Anna Karam, of Akron, and critically wounding 19-year-old Jessica Halman, of Norton.

David Stoddard

Stoddard was arrested Sunday morning in Wadsworth on warrants charging him with aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and felonious assault. He is being held at the Summit County Jail on a $250,000 cash bond.

Both women were shot in the head at a home in the 200 block of East Archwood Avenue, Akron, shortly before 4 a.m.

Edwards said Stoddard entered the home through a sliding glass door in the back, looking for an ex-girlfriend. He said Stoddard was an acquaintance of both victims.

The Summit County medical examiner’s office confirmed that Karam had been pregnant, but has not yet determined for how many months, Edwards said.

Stoddard was arrested at the Legacy Inn, 810 High St., Wadsworth, the same motel where accused killer Nathan Summerfield was arrested in August following a nationwide manhunt.

Summerfield, 27, of Ashland, is accused of killing his girlfriend, Lynn Jackenheimer, 33, also of Ashland, in Dare County, N.C., while they were vacationing in the Outer Banks with her two children in early July.

Stoddard checked into the Legacy Inn, where his black Nissan Pathfinder was spotted by a patrol officer shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday.

Wadsworth officers and Medina County sheriff’s deputies secured the perimeter until the Medina County SWAT team arrived. The SWAT team broke through the door of Stoddard’s motel room, and he was arrested without incident.

Wadsworth police Lt. Rob Wyrick said five Wadsworth officers were at the scene for the arrest. In addition to Wadsworth police and the SWAT team, officers from Lodi, Seville and Medina responded to the motel.

The lieutenant said it was a coincidence that both Stoddard and Summerfield were arrested at the same motel.

“It’s been tough for their business,” he said. “(But) a lot of good people stay and work at the hotel.”